TUSCALOOSA, Alabama -- When Adrian
Hubbard signed with Alabama in 2010, significant and legitimate chatter arose
that the 6-foot-7, 227-pound athlete could play both football and basketball.

During an official visit to Tuscaloosa, Hubbard even met with men's
basketball coach Anthony Grant, who initially recruited Hubbard while he was the
coach at VCU. While playing two sports at a school like Alabama seemed realistic
on a pie-in-the-sky day like National Signing Day, Hubbard quashed the idea soon
thereafter.

Hubbard was a football player, and he had to start eating and training like
one on a daily basis with no other distractions.

"It was tough, but growing up and being a man, you have choices to make. And
a man has to be accountable for his choices," said Hubbard, who didn't even play
football during his junior year at Norcross (Ga.) High. "I just went one way and
decided it was the way I was going to go."

Hubbard is 25 pounds heavier now, no longer the "little toothpick" he was
when he first arrived at Alabama. Thanks to an stacked depth chart during his
first two seasons at Alabama, Hubbard's experience is minimal -- nine tackles in
nine games.

With the spots reserved for outside linebackers Courtney Upshaw and Jerrell
Harris now vacant, Hubbard's path to playing time is clear. It even features
some of that double duty he initially considered, albeit exclusively in
football.

Throughout a spring in which he's been among the first outside linebackers
coach Nick Saban mentions during post-practice news conferences, Hubbard has
worked at both the Jack and Sam linebacker spots.

"I'm just playing my position wherever they have me," Hubbard said. "I like
wherever they put me on the field, to tell the truth."

Hubbard was Upshaw's backup at Jack in 2011, but that position could be
better suited in 2012 for fellow sophomore Xzavier Dickson, who is just now
getting back up to full speed after spraining his ankle during an offseason
workout.

That's perhaps why Hubbard has been spotted so much at the Sam, a position
where Harris was the No. 1 man all last season. Hubbard said he's worked at both
positions during practice since he was a true freshman.

"I think I've been molded well by Courtney and Jerrell," Hubbard said. "They
kind of made that warrior mentality come out in me.

"(Former outside linebackers coach Sal Sunseri), kind of helped us with that
warrior mentality, too. Coach (Lance) Thompson is all about that mentality -- do
your job and execute your assignments, and everything will fall into place for
itself."

Though Harris was Alabama's starter at Sam during the past two seasons, his
playing time didn't reflect it. At Pro Day last month, Saban said Alabama played
out of its base, 3-4 defense "20 percent of the time." The other 80 percent was
"some kind of 4-3 defense," where Upshaw occasionally moved to the line and
played defensive end.

More often than not, Harris, who had 29 tackles last season, was on the
sidelines during that transition. In 2008 and 2009, Cory Reamer manned the
position and combined to rack up 85 tackles.

Saban's defenses, though, have evolved from year to year, and that probably
works to Hubbard's advantage if he ends up winning the job at Sam. After
Friday's scrimmage, Saban put Hubbard in an exclusive group of defensive
playmakers that he'd like to see expand before September.

"You're always looking for playmaker-type guys on defense. You never feel
like you have enough on defense," Saban said. "I think we were very fortunate
last year to have a significant amount of guys that were that way. Right now,
we're probably a little bit thin in terms of edge rush guys. Both Hubbard and
Xzavier Dickson have done a nice job there, but we need to develop some other
guys there.

"We don't have the same kind of big linebackers who can do both -- play
linebacker and be rushers, other than those two guys. We probably need to
develop some other guys there."

Possible prospects at the position include Jonathan Atchison and Anthony Orr
as well as early enrollees Ryan Anderson and Dillon Lee.

"When you first get in, it's mind-boggling because you're recruited for one
position, then you get changed," Hubbard said. "I've helped their mindset,
saying, 'Don't worry about where they put you, just play and execute your job.'"